Hannah Fine '15 Explores Fashion World In Internship

Many students at Hamilton love fashion, but very few get the opportunity to work for a distinguished fashion designer such as Oscar de la Renta, who recently received an honorary degree from Hamilton. This summer, however, Hannah Fine ’15 is interning with the e-commerce team at Oscar de la Renta. She is completing her internship with support from The Class of 2006 Internship Fund.

Fine has always loved fashion, commenting, “I think it’s amazing how people are able to express themselves through what they wear.” However, she was more interested in working on the business than the artistic side of the industry. A new media studies minor, she felt that e-commerce fit her interests perfectly. She explained, “I chose to work in e-commerce because I am fascinated by the world of digital media.” Her internship granted her exposure to all the facets of fashion e-commerce, from website design to working at photo shoots. She found that her experience added practical knowledge and skills to what she had learned in the classroom at Hamilton. She remarked, “I felt that this internship would provide me with a working skillset for website management and online retail, while allowing me to learn about the inner-workings and organization of the fashion industry.”

The fashion industry is known for being competitive, but Fine obtained her internship through a combination of experience and enthusiasm. Fine works as the Digital Media Intern at the Hamilton Career Center, a position that helped her resume rise to the top of the pile. She found that it was her energy, however, that really made her stand out during the interview process. She observed, “Every company is looking for an intern who will greet any task with a smile. Especially in fashion, it’s important to show an employer that you are willing to do whatever it takes, and that you genuinely want to help them however possible.”

Fine’s internship at Oscar de la Renta has advanced her perspective on the fashion industry and on working with digital media. She described, “No matter what I choose to do, this internship has forever changed the way I look at fashion. This is a world I’ve always loved, and it has been invaluable to understand how it works from the inside – I will take this experience with me for the rest of my life.” Next semester she will continue to gain practical career experience with a public relations internship at NBC as part of Hamilton’s New York City program.